Uconn

Connecticut's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, left, and Connecticut's Bria Hartley, right, celebrate in the second half of a second-round game against Vanderbilt in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Storrs, Conn., Monday, March 25, 2013. Connecticut won 77-44. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

STORRS — As the NCAA tournament field gets pared down round after round, often you find that the teams that survive are those that can rely on their defense to carry them. Those that thrive are the teams that have the ability to add an equally efficient offense into the mix.

No. 1 seed UConn displayed both traits Monday night during its 77-44 second-round victory over No. 8-seeded Vanderbilt in front of a crowd of 4,483 at Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies combined the aggressiveness of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis with the re-emergence of a confident Breanna Stewart, showing off her skills on both ends of the court. They were fueled by a ballhawking, attacking defense and an offense that was balanced enough to keep opponents on their heels.

"The difference with UConn and why they have a chance to win a national championship, I believe is that they are excellent at both ends of the floor," Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said. "That is why you saw the big difference in scoring compared to the Texas A&Ms, the Kentuckys and the Tennessees that we stayed with better."

The Huskies (31-4) advanced to their 20th regional semifinal in a row, currently the longest streak in women's basketball.

They play against Saturday in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena. UConn will face No. 4 seed Maryland, which beat Michigan State, 74-49, Monday night. Saturday's game will be at either noon or 2:30 p.m.

Mosqueda-Lewis led the Huskies into the regional semifinal with a 22-point performance, with half of those points coming in a span of 5:22 of the second half as the Huskies steamrolled Vanderbilt. She played with the aggressive scoring attitude that Auriemma wanted to see from her as she shot 9-for-14 from the field.

"I saw that our team needed a little push," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "We needed to show that we weren't going to back down whenever they came at us, and we weren't going to let them pressure us to the point where we couldn't function. I just wanted to make it a point to show my teammates, 'Come on guys, we've got this. We can ride it out. As much as they want to give, we can give it right back."

The game marked the 11th time this season and the third time in seven career NCAA Tournament games that she has scored 20 or more points.

Breanna Stewart added 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots in her first career NCAA Tournament game after sitting out Saturday's first-round game with a calf injury. Dolson finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Morgan Tuck added 11 points.

"I had been down for a while, and I was trying to really get myself back into the way I know how to play," Stewart said. "I think that in the Big East Tournament I definitely stepped it up, and I've carried it over into the NCAA Tournament. I feel good. I feel confident with how I'm playing.

Balcomb was impressive with the balance Stewart showed in her game.

"I knew she could score, but I didn't know she would be that aggressively defensively, shooting the gaps and getting in passing lanes," Balcomb said. "She is a scoring machine. Obviously she can face up and get to the rim and stretch the defense. But I didn't know she had the defense and the effort that she has changed from high school and AAU. That adjustment as a freshman is rare today."

"Our defense was so good that it never felt like we were struggling to keep the lead or struggle in the game, period," Auriemma said. "And I thought our defense was as good as it's been at any time this year. And that's exactly what you need at this of the year."

The Huskies held Vanderbilt to a season-low 44 points by forcing the Commodores into 23 turnovers off of which they scored 34 points. They also held Vandy, led by Tiffany Clarke's 16 points, to 37.8 percent shooting from the field.

For the season, the Huskies have held their opponents to an average of only 49.0 points and a shooting percentage of just and 39.7 from the field, ranking fifth and second in the nation, respectively. The scoring defense is also third in team history while the shooting percentage is fourth.

It was still only a five-point game, 25-20, with 5:44 to play in the first half when the Huskies went on a 12-0 run. UConn was led by seven points from Mosqueda-Lewis during that run.

The Commodores scored the final four points of the first half to go into intermission trailing by just 13 points, 37-24, but then UConn scored the first 17 points of the second half. During that run, the Huskies held Vanderbilt scoreless for 7:20 as the Commodores shot 0-for-11 from the field and turned the ball over five times.

Over the final 5:45 of the first half and the first 7:20 of the second half, a total of 13:05 Vanderbilt shot a combined 1-for-14 from the field and turned the ball over 10 times as it went from a five-point game to a 54-24 UConn lead.

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